A photographic plate-making process applicable with a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material include, for example, a step for converting a continuous tone original into a halftone-dot image, that is a step for converting the density variation of a continuous tone into an aggregate of the halftone dots having an area proportionate to the above-mentioned density; a step for converting the halftone dot image obtained in the above-mentioned step into an halftone dot image having an image sharpness more excellent than the above-mentioned halftone dot image, that is, a contact step; and so forth.
A light-sensitive material applicable to the above-mentioned steps has been regarded so far to be inevitable to have a high contrast, because an excellent halftone dot image is required to come out.
As for the methods for obtaining the above-mentioned characteristics, there has so far been such a known method as the so-called lith development method, in which a light-sensitive material comprising a silver chlorobromide emulsion comprised of comparatively fine-grains (having a grain size of the order of 0.2.mu.) having a narrow grain size distribution and a high silver chloride content (at least not less than 50 mol %), such light-sensitive material is processed with an alkali hydroquinone developer having a very low sulfurous acid ion concentration.
However, when making use of the above-mentioned method, there is such a problem that preservability is seriously deteriorated because the sulfurous acid ion concentration is low in a developer, and that a development speed is too slow to perform any rapid processing.
It has accordingly been demanded for developing a novel light-sensitive material from which a high contrast can be obtained by processing it with a developer containing a super-additivity type developing agent having an excellent preservability and a rapid processing performance and also containing a sulfite having a comparatively higher concentration, that is so-called a PQ type developer (containing a developing agent comprising a 3-pyrazolidone compound and dihydroxybenzene) or an MQ type developer (containing a developing agent comprising an aminophenol compound and dihydroxybenzene).
As for the above-mentioned light-sensitive materials, Japanese Patent Examined Publication (hereinafter referred to as JP Ex. Publication) Nos. 59-17825/1984 and 59-17826/1984 disclose each a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material containing a tetrazolium compound, and Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereinafter referred to as JP OPI Publication) No. 56-106244/1981 discloses a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material containing a hydrazine compound.
In the above-mentioned techniques, a light-sensitive material has to be processed with a developer having a pH of not lower than 11.2 so that the hard contrast property of a hydrazine derivative can satisfactorily be displayed. When a developer having a high pH of not lower than 11.2 is exposed to the air, the subject developing agent is liable to be oxidized. For remedying the defect, JP OPI Publication No. 63-29751/1988 and European Patent Nos. 333,435 and 345,025 disclose each a method for processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material containing a contrast hardener capable of providing a hard contrast even when making use of a developer having a comparatively lower pH, wherein the above-mentioned light-sensitive material is processed with a developer not containing substantially any alkanolamine compound.
In recent years, a demand for many photographic processing have increased. However, when a developing solution contacts with air, a developing agent of the developing solution is oxidized, and then, the activity of the developing solution is raised, so that the variation of photographic performance is caused. Therefore, to prevent the variation, many developer replenishing solution has been employed as conventional method.
However, in recent years, a rapid processability and a lower replenishment have further been demanded, so that the above-mentioned conventional method is not capable of meeting demands of the rapid processability and the lower replenishment.
For satisfying the demands for a rapid processability and a lower replenishment, a light-sensitive material has increasingly been applied with such an emulsion that a development and a fixation can be performed within a short time and silver chloride capable of excellently performing a rapid processing is contained therein. However, a silver chloride emulsion has such a defect that a sensitivity and a contrast are liable to be varied during the aging and running a developer used and that a fog is also liable to produce. Therefore, it is problematic that a lower replenishment may not be performed.